???, School, 3:05 PM, Present
Niche sits in his last period classroom. Ryota is absent from school today, so the desk next to him lies empty. Maruka sits three desks away. After the bell rings, Niche gets up approaching Maruka.
"Maruka—" he starts.
She looks at him without recognition. "Do I know you?" she ignores, looking at him in disgust.
Niche is taken aback, and, before he could formulate a response, Maruka gets up and disgustingly leaves.
Niche gets his backpack and walks home in silence.
Niche’s House, Present
Niche goes to his house, going to his bathroom right after school. When he looks in the bathroom mirror, a stranger's face appears. Different from his own.
Raizen's voice echoes from Niche’s room. "I changed your appearance so the shifter doesn't find out the real identity of the person he trapped in his dream world. The alias Almajara should keep your true identity safe until this is all over."
Niche runs back into his room.
“Raizen,” Niche starts. “I have no idea what the hell you did to my face, but change it back now!”
“No, Niche. I cannot comply.”
“Well fuck you, then!”
Suddenly, Niche and Raizen are in the school bathroom. Neither of them question this strange change in setting.
School, One Hour Ago, 3:00 PM, Present
Niche storms out of the school bathroom, running back to the room. The bell has not rung yet, but Maruka is absent from the class.
When Niche notices this, a gun suddenly appears in his hand. Looking at this object that suddenly teleported into his hand, Niche raises it and points it at his temple.
"There's no point living if it is without Maruka,” he says, pulling the trigger.
The bullet leaves the chamber—
???, Ethereal Realm, Present
Niche finds himself in space. He is in darkness, but his body as well as small white dots in the distance he assumes are stars are illuminated. Everything around him feels eternal.
A voice in his head rings. “Ah, I remember now. Fixing the sun wasn't what I truly desired, but for an immortal, it was just what I needed to cure my boredom."
Niche touches his own mouth. He's not speaking, but he hears his own voice.
"So then, what about Maruka and Ryota?” the voice asks. “They were real, yes, but my attachments to them were purely artificial."
Niche's eyes widen in horror as this voice continues talking without him.
Suddenly, a crystal appears in front of Niche, radiating with light.
He looks at the crystal.
The voice continues, now from his reflection inside the crystal. "I fabricated relationships, and a goal also, so I could feel something besides the redundancy of infinity. Yes, that's what it was."
"No... that's not..." Niche backs away from the crystal. “Wait,” Niche says, looking into the crystal.
"Why are my eyes in this reflection... gray?" Niche asks, confused.
Niche digs his hand inside his own chest and rips his heart out.
???, School, 3:01 PM, Present
Niche sits back in the classroom, the gun pointed to his head. He stands exactly where he was when he pulled the trigger.
Niche, realizing this, starts overthinking, his mind jumping to conclusions.
Niche tests his flame. It works.
Niche heads for the door, then stops. Turning around and running to the window, he smashes it and picks up a shard of falling glass as the window shatters.
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Niche carves into his arm two words with the glass shard: "KILL YOURSELF."
Niche runs out of the classroom and towards the palace.
Real World, Palace, Three Hours Later, Present
Venus addresses the nation again.
"Citizens of the state, your hoarded food supplies were breeding grounds for corruption. We start fresh. Those who serve the state will eat. Those who resist will starve."
The news cameras capture all of the effects of Venus’ actions; the weeping of the people as ration centers blaze is broadcasted for the whole world to see.
“This isn't leadership. It's madness,” some people start saying. “We should’ve never let this tyrant overthrow the government.” “Return to traditional ways!” they chant.
In the corner of the broadcast, someone spray-paints "RESIST THE TYRANT" on a wall.
Venus, seeing these news stations and their reports, allows himself a small smile.
he thinks.
Dream Inside Dream World, Throne Room, Present
Niche is halfway to the palace when reality shifts. He’s suddenly in a throne room. Not the modern palace, but something ancient. He’s wearing a royal robe.
"Your majesty," a servant bows. "The morning briefing—"
Niche glances at his arm. The carved message bleeds through the royal garments: KILL YOURSELF.
Not remembering where this text had appeared from but also not questioning the sign, Niche grabs Raizen and plunges the sword into his heart.
Dream Inside Dream World, Hospital Bed, Present
Old. Dying. Nurses around him. "Mr. Sutori, please stay calm. Your family is—"
Niche looks at his arm and kills himself.
Dream Inside Dream World, Underwater, Present
Sinking. Lungs burning. The surface is impossibly far above. He's drowning—perfect. Let’s the water in.
Dead.
Each death brings him closer to the palace. The shifter can't move him far from his destination anymore; all he can do is put Niche to sleep, which essentially does nothing to the unstoppable force. The dreams are getting shorter and more desperate as Mars’ energy burns out.
Real World, Present
A figure appears on pirate broadcasts. His face is hidden, and his voice is disguised but commanding.
"I am the Liberator,” the masked man says. “Almajara has lost his way, as is no longer for his people. Power has corrupted him absolutely. Join me, and we will restore freedom to our nation."
Venus thinks under the mask of Liberator,
"Tomorrow, we march on the palace. Almajara's reign ends,” the Liberator triumphantly calls out to the nation.
Convenience Store, Present
A masked man enters a store.
He points gun at the cashier. "Money in the bag. Now,” he demands.
As the cashier complies, the intruder says, “Man, hurry up.” The masked man shoots the cashier in the hand. “I said hurry up! Next time it’ll be your head that gets it,” he threatens.
As the cashier quietly cries while he hurries to put the money in the bag, the masked man looks around the store and sees Shima checking out which kind of chips to buy.
The man looks at her closer. After a realization, he says, “Wait... you're one of people. There's a bounty on you freaks."
He aims the gun at her face. "Dead or alive, so—"
A cat latches onto his ankle. It tears the man’s flesh off and hisses, scratching his shin.
"FUCK!" the man exclaims, looking down.
Before he can deal with the cat, Shima's fist connects with the man’s jaw, knocking him out. After the man drops on the floor, the cat transforms into Raizen’s humanoid form, which stretches, annoyed.
"This is exhausting,” Raizen says, walking to the bleeding cashier. "Being this far from the sword, doing actual stuff... I'm burning through everything."
Shima kicks the robber's gun away, stepping on his hand to break it. "Then why come?"
"Because you two would die without me." Raizen puts his hand on the cashier's wound. "But I can't keep this up. Niche is gonna need me soon and I'll be useless if I waste all my energy here."
The wound on the cashier’s hand closes. Raizen's form is already flickering.
"I'm going back. Try not to get shot,” Raizen advises Shima.
Raizen seems to evaporate into the air.
Maruka suddenly emerges from one of the aisles.
"Was that gunfire?” she asks obliviously. “I was deciding between -” Maruka notices the unconscious robber. "Oh. One of those bounty hunters, huh?"
"Yeah,” Shima responds.
"Should we check who sent him? Might be connected to—"
"I said two bags."
“What?” Maruka asks.
“You can get at most two bags of chips.” Shima looks down at Maruka’s arms. “You have three bags.”
“Oh. I’ll put this one back,” Maruka responds, sad.
Dream Inside Dream World, Playground, Present
Niche is a child on a playground. He sees the message carved into child-flesh. Finds broken glass. Dead.
Dream World, Present
The dreams barely last seconds now. The shifter is panicking, exhausted. He can't create full scenarios anymore, just fragments.
Finally, Niche arrives at the palace. The real dream palace. He can feel it; this is the surface layer, not another nested dream.
The janitor is there, mopping frantically. Now, he's sweating and shaking when he sees Niche bust through the doors.
"Found you," Niche says, locking eyes with this fake janitor.
Mars looks visibly surprised, but the awe is replaced by infuriating anger.
Niche charges forward at Mars, Raizen already drawn. Mars's eyes widen—
Dream Inside Dream World, Classroom, Present
Suddenly, Niche is in a classroom. Raizen’s still in his hand, but now it's just a ruler. Students stare at Niche who stands, sweating.
He rams the ruler through his eye.
Death. Awake.
Dream World, Present
Niche stands up, dazed by his sudden nap. Looking around, Niche sees Mars backing away down the palace corridor. Niche runs forward and slashes at the air where Mars will be—
Mars panics, causing dreams rapid-fire. Niche swings, falls asleep mid swing, kills himself in his dream, wakes up, and continues his swing attack. He doesn't stop swinging and each slash seems to be getting closer to connecting with Mars.
Bedroom. Raizen is a pillow. Niche suffocates himself.
Death. Awake.
SLASH.
Mars barely ducks.
Prison cell. Raizen is gone entirely. Niche slams his head into concrete.
Death. Awake.
Niche’s getting the timing now. Mars needs a half-second of eye contact to trigger dreams.
Niche keeps Raizen moving, a constant barrier of steel between their eyes—
Kitchen. Raizen is a spatula. Gas stove death.
Death. Awake.
Slash, slash, moving forward like a machine—
"Stay STILL!" Mars screams, stumbling over his janitor bucket.
Parking lot. Raizen is a car key. Niche jams it into an electrical socket he somehow finds.
Death. Awake.
Mars is bleeding now—Raizen caught his shoulder. The dreams are getting desperate—
Hospital. Raizen is a scalpel. Perfect. Throat.
Death. Awake.
Another hit, Mars's leg this time—
White void. Nothing exists except them. Raizen is gone.
"You can't kill yourself here!" Mars gasps. "Just STOP!"
Niche looks at his carved arm. Starts clawing his throat.
"Use your blade!" Raizen's voice echoes from nowhere. "I'm still here, just hidden!"
Niche closes his eyes, feels for the connection. There - Raizen's presence, masked by the dream.
He pulls, and the sword materializes.
"That's imposs—" Mars starts.
“This is my dream, not yours.” Niche drives Raizen through his own chest.
Death. Awake.
Mars is on the ground, trying to crawl. Multiple wounds bleeding. He touches Niche's ankle—
Five dreams at once inside of each other. Niche is drowning in a dream where he’s asleep burning dreaming as he’s falling in a dream where he is suffocating.
Raizen remains constant through all of them, one true thing across multiple false realities.
"Found the pattern," Niche says calmly, using Raizen to end each dream in sequence. Five deaths in one second.
Awake. Mars can barely move. Brain hemorrhaging from overuse.
"How?" Mars wheezes.
"My blade transcends your illusions." Niche raises Raizen. "Should've picked a different opponent."
The final strike lets out flames that engulf the shifter. But Mars doesn't die easily. He stumbles back, trying one more time to shift reality.
He succeeds partially; they're suddenly in a burning building. But Niche expected this; he's already moving. Raizen manifests mid-swing while Niche kills himself in the same swing he goes on to take Mars's head off.
Dream World, Present
Niche falls on the ground, losing his balance. While he pants on the ground, Niche grabs Raizen, puts the blade up, and stabs himself through the heart.
The dream collapses—
